


Old Scars

by Poches



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-21
Updated: 2015-01-21
Packaged: 2018-03-08 13:22:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3210659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poches/pseuds/Poches
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shepard and Garrus have a casual conversation about old wounds and the past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Old Scars

**Author's Note:**

> A sweet little ficlet because why not. We all need it. Set in Mass Effect 2, after the Omega 4 Relay, before the events of Mass Effect 3. My first work of fanfiction ever, as well as first time writing characters who are not my own/do not belong to friends.

“Hey Garrus.”

“Hm?” The turian raised his head from his nuzzling position. He had been holding his neck against the woman’s neck, silently appreciating the moment they had. After the Collectors business was all done and finished with, she often called him down to relax and spend time with her, and today was no exception. 

“What is it, Shepard?”

“I got a question for you.” 

“Oh, joy. Another question session with the scintillating Commander Shepard, How may I enlighten you?”

Even being in his lap, the commander snorted slightly. “Oh shut up Vakarian. It’s kind of a legitimate question and I’ve been sitting on---“ “My lap?” “---it for days and yes, your lap too. Also for days.”

Shifting to make himself more comfortable, Garrus pressed her closer to him. “Yes, of course you can ask me. What’s bothering you, Shepard?”

Now it was her turn to shift. She turned herself around to face him, legs splaying to accommodate her position. Garrus coughed slightly at the change of position, trying not to give any hint that he enjoyed the reposition too much. Regardless, she gave him a knowing smile and went back to the matter at hand.

“Look here.” She said, moving her face to the left and showing off the scars on the right side of her face. “I’ve had these scars for quite awhile. Even after I gifted those Collectors a bomb in the ass.” He interrupted her with a rough chuckle. “I’ve been thinking about upgrading the med bay for Dr. Chakwas. Ask her to fix my scars. But everytime I think about asking Mordin to start the upgrades, I always stop myself.”

“I get the feeling you want to ramble on for hours on end about why you don't want to heal your scars.”

“Well damn Vakarian. When did you get asari mind probing powers?”

“It’s called intuition and spending too much time with your human girlfriend.” He smirked at the face of slight indignation she made. “Don’t worry. I love it.”

“Hmph. Anyways, I just have a few personal reasons to not heal them. For one, they’re kind of…a reminder of sorts.” Garrus remained silent. He knew what they were a reminder for, but decided it was not his place to start. 

“Every morning I look at myself in the mirror and see those faint lights all over my skin and think about what happened. Suddenly I’m back on the SR1 and everyone’s still there. Alive. Then they’re not.” Shepard eased her face into the crook of Garrus’ neck. “I just think about what happened and…” She paused shortly. “…I just remind myself that it can’t happen again. I look at my face and I see the faces of Pressly, my entire crew and think _‘Damn myself if that happens again’_.” She raised her head and shook it. “Heh. Kinda stupid, right?”

“Not at all.” Garrus replied, mandibles flaring into what resembled a smile. “I mean, take me for example. I look at this monstrosity,” he pointed to the left side of his face. It was still marred by the remnants of the missile he had literally faced on Omega. “And remember how much of an idiot I was. At least yours serve as a reminder for something...more.” He ran a taloned hand through her hair, gently stroking her. “I was playing the hero. Your scars remind you to be the hero.”

Shepard raised her head, her face only a couple of inches away from his. “You think?”

Garrus grinned and pressed his forehead against hers, eyes fluttering shut. “I do. If those scars served as a reminder of past wrongs, you’ve righted them tenfold, Shepard. You did the impossible and gave the Collectors hell.” He raised his head from hers. “If that doesn’t say something about you, then I don’t know what doesn’t.”

She finally let her mouth spread into a wide smile. “Thanks. I appreciate it. Except you have to give yourself a bit more credit, Garrus. I mean, you did get three mercenary groups to band together and hunt you down.” There was the sarcastic Shepard he knew and loved.

“Oh the plights of poor Archangel. He will be missed.”

“That he will be. But you know what I miss? My eyebrow scar.”

Admittedly he felt a bit taken aback by the sudden change of mood, but laughed regardless. “The one on this eyebrow?” he pointed to her right eyebrow. Now the eyebrow was complete with no sign of the previous scar. If there was any indication of harm in that area, it had completely disappeared.

“Yup. God, it always feels weird for hair to be there now…I run my finger there, expecting there to be nothing. And then I remember there’s hair there again. _So_ damn weird.”

“Get to the point, Shepard.”

“Fine, fine. We all know the story about Akuze, right?” He nodded. “And yeah yeah, I was a badass and all that while everyone died. I always used to get people going _Hey did you get that scar from Akuze?! What happened?!_ ,” Garrus had to let out a hearty laugh at her ridiculous, squeaky voices that were meant to parody the incessant harpies. “They ALL expect some badass, grandiose story about how I don’t know, wrestled a thresher maw with my bare hands and BOOM, there goes a perfect little sliver of my eyebrow.”

“Well no. You want to know how I got that scar?” Garrus sat up, eyes wide and snapping to attention as if anticipating something huge. His mandibles opened up in an expression of mock-interest and gasped. “Yeah go win yourself an Oscar’s, you ass.” 

“I don’t know what that is, Shepard.” 

“You don’t know what an ass is?” 

“Just finish your story.”

She got off his lap. He started to protest but stopped as she sat beside him and leaned against his shoulder, snuggling up with apparent satisfaction. This was an acceptable alternative, he decided.

“You know how you had a spat with that recon scout? Well it was similar to this, except minus the fucking and minus the story leading to me being in a relationship with a turian.” Garrus couldn’t help but blush at this comment. “Now see here…” he started, only to be silenced with a hiss.

“You get what I mean. Anyways, I got into an argument when I was a rookie with another rookie. Don’t even remember what about. But it ended with me sending him sprawling,” Shepard mimed a quick right hook in the air. “Just smashed it like a melon. I sent some teeth flying, but not before the idiot managed to flail around with the knife in his hands and took a piece of my eyebrow with him.” She flicked a finger upwards against her own eyebrow.

“Ouch. Personally, I’d take the missile over a Shepard-special any day. Less risk there.” he chuckled, remembering the fate of that reporter.

“Yes, but does he get sexy scars out of it? Does he get a reminder that he can live through impossible odds?”

“Well given how hard you hit…” She purposefully play-slapped the scarred face of his side.

“No, he gets a shiner, a sore face, and an acute case of Shepard-phobia.”

“Well for what it’s worth, Shepard, I appreciate you, scarred and not.” Garrus offered, quickly pressing his mouth to her eyebrow.

“As I do you. But that’s another thing. You want to know the other reason I might not want to heal these scars?” she asked, looking up at him.

He shifted to look back down at her, the original question brought back to light. “Why’s that?”

Her signature red lips curved into a smile. “Because then we can be the most badass, facially-deformed couple the galaxy has ever had the displeasure of ever laying eyes on.”

The only response he could muster at the ridiculously sweet and stupid answer was a flushed face and peals of laughter.


End file.
